Music Reviews and all that!

Anyone who labels Genesis as some old bloke pop rock band who can't write a decent tune because they are shit is right...except that only really is applicable when Peter Gabriel left the band. All of the alabums by Genesis with Gabriel are brilliant, if not occassionally middle class pomp fantasy and more concerned with technality interspersed with humour.

The Lamb exceeds all that went before it, it is a concept album to end all concept albums, it has songs that range from 1 or 2 minutes to 6 or 7, it is a double album of a journey of bizarre recollection, where confusionm meets the calm followed by irreverent outbursts and intoxicating variety.

There is madness in the music, NYC, gorgeousness, Carpet crawlers, sublime, colony of the slippermen, amusing, counting out time, creative lyrically throughout it staggers me to listen to,and its an album where you are drawn to listen through out each time. In the cage signals a journey and you are not sure whether its a journey laced with madness or normality but its almost like been locked up and given the key but the door simply has no lock...

This was Gabriels last album, damn him for leaving, damn Phil Collins for singing ever.

Marks out of 10: 9

This is by far the best outing from the Cardiff band. I can't find fault with any of the tracks on this album, when can you ever say that?.

Gene throw off their Smiths and The Jam influences from Olympian and instead plump for sweeping musical gems, classics even, especially when you listen to Where are they now? and fighting fit. Long sleeves for the summer, apart from its excellent title, show Gene playing with that complexity of the depressive and the eternally hopeful lyric and tune, I think thats a genius quality. That kind of thing makes me happy about Gene because it means they can't be easily pigeon holed or crassly chamiponed by the likes of toss mag NME.

Enough, its a fantastic album, nostalgic, romantic, preoccupied, anthemic and unprentious.

The follow up was good, very good, but never as good as this.

Marks out of 10: 10